Chapter 857 The Opening of Immortal Palace above the Southern Sky Gate
The Yellow Dragon Tribe was indeed related to the immortal palace.
When Li Mu heard what the chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe said, he knew the judgment that he made in the Mount Shong World was correct. According to the secret history book of the Mind-clearing Sword Sect, the ancestor of the Yellow Dragon Tribe used to be the divine beast guarding the gate of the immortal palace. He had asked the chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe about that before, but the latter had worries and did not tell him anything.
“What is it?” Li Mu asked.
The chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe looked around.
Huang Ye’er immediately understood it and left with Luo Liang.
After the others had left, the chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe said with a wry smile, “It’s called the Myriad Beasts Ring. It was a legacy from my ancestor, who took it out of the immortal palace. Later, my tribe was cursed because of this beast ring. Countless members of my tribe were forced to wander from place to place, got killed or injured, and led miserable lives. The curse could be lifted only by placing this ring on the Dragon-confining Platform in the immortal palace and returning it to its original owner, and only in that way could my tribe thrive.”
He opened his hand.
A black ring looking like a bracelet appeared.
The ring seemed to be made of black iron, and there were no patterns on its surface. It was just an ordinary ring with ordinary texture, but on closer inspection, one would find that there were three words engraved on the inside of the ring. These words seemed to be ancient ones, which Li Mu did not recognize.
“Could it be that these words are ‘Myriad Beasts Ring’ that the chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe just mentioned?”
Other than the three words, there was nothing special about the black ring.
Li Mu took the ring and found that it was extremely heavy, weighing millions of kilograms, but it was not a storage s.p.a.ce. It was not hollow, and there were no runes or tactical deployment attached to it. It was like an inanimate object. Li Mu had no idea what it was used for. He checked it carefully and found that it seemed to have no other use, except that it might be used as a weapon and thrown out to attack others.
He was lost in thought.
“The chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe said his ancestors took this Myriad Beasts Ring out of the immortal palace. I’m afraid he was just being euphemistic when he said that, and the truth should be that they ‘stole’ it. Otherwise, the Yellow Dragon Tribe wouldn’t have been cursed and wanted to return it.”
However, Li Mu didn’t ask too much about the details.
“Okay, I’ll help you return it,” he nodded his agreement after thinking for a while.
The chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe was overjoyed. He was about to kneel down to show his grat.i.tude, but Li Mu stopped him.
He said gratefully, “Mr. Li, you’re really a chivalrous man of your word. It seems that the curse on my tribe can finally be lifted. In order to express my grat.i.tude, I have something else for you. I wish you a safe trip in the immortal palace.”
He took out a map and handed it to Li Mu.
“This is a map showing the periphery of the immortal palace. It was drawn by my ancestor based on his memory after he got out of the immortal palace back then. The green lines on the map are the safe routes. However, my ancestor just reached the periphery and did not go deep into the immortal palace at that time, so these green lines cannot guide you into the depths of the palace. The scenes inside the palace were drawn by my ancestor after he saw them from a distant vantage point. This map can only be used as a reference. Mr. Li, you have to be cautious when you use it.”
The chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe unfolded the map and explained it to Li Mu in detail.
Li Mu said happily, “That’s great. Thanks a lot, Mr. Huang.”
The map was drawn on a hide of some unknown animal. Obviously, it was made quite a few years ago. The landforms on it were drawn with cinnabar, and the routes were drawn with green ink. Although the map was drawn with just a few simple strokes, it clearly showed what should be shown.
“That’s it. Mr. Li, I hope that you have a safe trip to the immortal palace.”
The chief of the Yellow Dragon Tribe bowed deeply.
Five days later.
Li Mu, the Cloud Light Saintess, and the stupid Husky finally arrived at Mount Tai after traveling for days and nights.
Mount Tai, also known as the Eastern Peak, was one of the most famous mountains in the Hero Country.
In the history of the Hero Country, there were countless legends and stories about Mount Tai, and many emperors wished to hold a grand ceremony of wors.h.i.+p of heaven on the summit of this mountain to pray and express grat.i.tude for peace and prosperity and show their political and military achievements, which added a lot of legendary color to Mount Tai.
After the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth was revived, the seals in famous mountains and great rivers were gradually removed. With that, various mountains and rivers, including Mount Tai, expanded and became larger worlds.
Li Mu, the Cloud Light Saintess, and the dog arrived at the Southern Sky Gate at noon.
The Southern Sky Gate of Mount Tai was also called the Three Skies Gate. It was located between the Flying Dragon Rock and the Soaring Phoenix Ridge at the top end of the 18 Bends of the winding mountain path. Looking up from below, it resembled the gate of a heavenly palace above the summit of the mountain. Since ancient times, there had been a legend that people could ascend Southern Sky Gate and enter the immortal world through it.
By this time, the mountain path winding around the Southern Sky Gate and the surrounding sky had already been crowded with pract.i.tioners from all over the world.
The members of the six major Divine Clans of the Celestial Court and some pract.i.tioners of the six major clans led by Bi Yan were closest to the Southern Sky Gate.
The pract.i.tioners of other immortal sects and individual pract.i.tioners lined up neatly around the gate in different groups.
Li Mu’s arrival attracted countless eyes.
As a top genius of the new generation, Li Mu made a name for himself by taking first place on two lists and getting on the Heaven Rankings List at the Immortal-Devil a.s.sembly. He became famous all over the world in the past tens of days. All those who were concerned with the opening of the immortal palace knew about him.
He was the center of attention.
“Is that Li Mu?”
“He looks very ordinary. No wonder he is a mortal.”
“The girl beside him is the successor of the Cloud Clan, right? He’s really something. He made the successor of a Divine Clan his maidservant. He is simply a role model for us… Hey, do you think they have… had s.e.x?”
“Shut up! Do you want to get killed? The people of the Cloud Clan would destroy your body and soul if they heard you!”
There were a lot of discussions in the crowd.
Countless eyes were fixed on Li Mu.
Li Mu remained calm because he had long been used to that.
“Ha-ha, Mr. Li, you’re finally here.” The Immortal Taoist smiled and walked to Li Mu.
Li Mu and his companions were guided to the foot of the Southern Sky Gate, standing side by side with the heads of the major Divine Clans of Celestial Court. Behind them was Yu Jingfeng, the alleged peerless genius of the Wind Clan appearing once in a millennium.
“He’s just a mortal. How could he be qualified to stand alongside the seniors of Divine Clans?”
A young pract.i.tioner from the Mist Clan complained.
“Shut up! Only powerful people on the Heaven Rankings List are qualified to stand there. If you are not resigned, you may go for the Heaven Rankings. Only those who can get on that list are qualified to be there,” said Fairy Shuiyue.
This beautiful girl with a sweet and innocent face had great prestige among the pract.i.tioners of the Mist Clan.
The jealous pract.i.tioners of the Mist Clan immediately stopped talking on hearing her words.
Thanks to Li Mu’s influence, the Cloud Light Saintess and the stupid Husky stood in the first line. The old faker had forcibly obtained the quota for the dog to be here. He believed that the dog would help Li Mu find the top-grade magic fruits. After all, dogs had a good sense of smell.
The old faker seemed to be going further and further on the road of being a bully and tyrant.
The successors of the six Divine Clans, Lei Cang, Ghost, Fairy Shuiyue, Lin Yuhan, and the elite disciples of the six Divine Clans were lined up behind the first line.
The pract.i.tioners of other immortal sects and individual pract.i.tioners were standing further behind.
The last line was arranged for the mortal pract.i.tioners who were accepted by various immortal sects as disciplines with high chances of attaining immortality and obtained the opportunity for entering the immortal palace.
Li Mu glanced around and found that there were probably ten thousand people qualified to enter the immortal palace.
“The quotas for entry into the immortal palace have been granted so easily. However, many people have fought desperately to get the quotas.”
Li Mu was a little speechless.
“In this case, the old faker’s fighting for the dog’s quota cannot be considered abuse of authority or cheating.
“After all, this dog is far more powerful than most pract.i.tioners.”
Another two hours pa.s.sed.
“It’s time.”
The founder of Chunyang Clan took several steps forward and came to the top of the Southern Sky Gate. He said, “Everyone, please take out your keys. It’s time to open the gate of the immortal palace.”
With that, he opened his hand.
A beam of golden light flashed.
A broken piece of bra.s.s vessel rose from his palm and floated in the air.
The lords of the Ghost Clan, the Mist Clan, and the Thunder Clan stepped forward and reached out their hands. Several pieces of bra.s.s vessel rose into the air and moved towards a certain point in the void.
Bi Yan took out two pieces of bra.s.s vessel.
One of them was the bra.s.s vessel’s leg that Li Mu s.n.a.t.c.hed from the ancestor of the Heavenly Deity Clan.
There were six pieces of bra.s.s vessel in total. After they were activated, they gave off a kind of strange light. Mysterious ancient runes that were invisible before emerged as they turned into six giant golden symbols. Finally, the six pieces of bra.s.s vessel were integrated, forming a complete ancient bra.s.s vessel.
Something unusual appeared in the sky above the Southern Sky Gate.
Countless ripples spread through the void as if the water of a Heavenly River was pouring down.
The ripples brushed the void like water. Then, an ink-wash landscape painting appeared in the void, as if all the dust had been brushed away. Numerous bejeweled jade palaces appeared in the distant sky as the gate of a new world was opened slowly.
All the people held their breath.
“It that the legendary immortal palace?”
The bra.s.s vessel vibrated slightly, releasing energy waves similar to acoustic waves. The ink-wash landscape painting became clearer and gradually grew vivid as if it were dyed with different colors. A jade-colored stone stairway leading from the Southern Sky Gate to the depths of the immortal palace slowly emerged.
Li Mu watched attentively without blinking.
Boom!
A loud bang rang out.
The bra.s.s vessel crashed into the void barrier, and the void barrier broke apart into pieces like a sheet of gla.s.s.
The immortal palace behind the barrier finally unveiled itself.
Surrounded by the immortal mist, numerous bejeweled jade palaces were partly hidden and partly visible. Amidst white clouds, there were countless divine temples arranged in rows and cl.u.s.ters, magnificent towering statues made of white jade, ancient paG.o.das with unknown purposes, immortal hills connected by chains, and immortal pavilions drifting in the air…
That was the real immortal palace.
Everyone’s breathing became heavy.
Immortal serendipity was right in front of them.
Countless eyes turned bloodshot in an instant.
“Let’s go.”
The founder of Chunyang Clan was the first to speak.
The heads of various Divine Clans began to retrieve their own pieces of bra.s.s vessel. Just then, the bra.s.s vessel suddenly jerked, freed itself from their control, erased their auras, turned into a beam of golden light, and fled into somewhere unknown in the distant immortal palace.
“What?”
“That’s too bad! Chase it!”
Several masters in the Deity Realm immediately soared into the air to chase the bra.s.s vessel like beams of light.
The bra.s.s vessel was a divine artifact that everyone wanted to get.
Bi Yan looked back at Li Mu and said in a cold tone of voice, “You’d better get out of here. I’m going to kill you first if you dare to enter the immortal palace.”
With that, she rushed into the immortal palace with the masters of the six major clans of traitorous devils.
“Let’s go.”
Li Mu ignored Bi Yan’s warning and followed closely behind her together with the Husky and the Cloud Light Saintess.
Countless people at the Southern Sky Gate of Mount Tai turned into streams of light and frantically swarmed through the gate into the clouds and palaces like locusts pa.s.sing through a border.